Ellen Griffin Dunne
{{Short description|American actor and activist (1932–1997)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ellen Griffin Dunne
| image = Ellen Griffin Dunne and Dominique Dunne.png
| caption = Ellen Griffin Dunne (left) with her daughter Dominique Dunne
| birth_name = Ellen Beatriz Griffin
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|01|28}}
| birth_place = Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|01|09|1932|01|28}}
| death_place = Nogales, Arizona, U.S.
| other_names = Lenny Dunne
| occupation = Activist
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{marriage|Dominick Dunne|1954|1965|reason=divorced}}
| children = 5, including Griffin and Dominique Dunne
| relatives = Hannah Dunne (granddaughter)
}}
Ellen Beatriz Griffin Dunne (January 28, 1932 – January 9, 1997) was an American activist. After the death of her daughter, Dominique Dunne, Dunne founded Justice for Homicide Victims. In 1989, she was recognized for her advocacy work by President George H. W. Bush.
Early life and marriage
Griffin was born on January 28, 1932, on Yerba Buena Ranch outside Tucson, Arizona. Her parents were Thomas Francis Griffin and Beatriz Sandoval Griffin.{{cite web |title=Paid Notice: Deaths Dunne, Ellen Griffin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/13/classified/paid-notice-deaths-dunne-ellen-griffin.html |website=New York Times |date=January 13, 1997|accessdate=October 16, 2018 |language=en}} Thomas Francis Griffin was a wealthy Irish American industrialist, part owner and executive of Griffin Wheel Company of Chicago, Illinois. Her mother Beatriz Sandoval was Mexican from Nogales, Sonora. She attended Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, Briarcliff College, and the University of Arizona, where she studied drama.{{cite web |last1=Foeller |first1=Alice |title=Obituary – Tucson Citizen Morgue, Part 2 (1993–2009) |url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1997/01/14/48672-obituary/ |website=Tucson Citizen |accessdate=October 16, 2018 |language=en}}
Griffin met Dominick Dunne in Hartford, Connecticut. They were married in 1954 at Griffin's family ranch in Arizona and lived in New York City before relocating to Beverly Hills. Of their five children, two died in infancy. Among their children were Dominique Dunne and Griffin Dunne.{{cite magazine |last1=Dunne |first1=Dominick |title=Dominick Dunne on His Daughter's Murder |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1984/03/dunne198403 |magazine=Vanity Fair |accessdate=October 16, 2018 |language=en}} The couple divorced in 1965.{{cite news|last1=Quinn |first1=Dale |title=Ariz. home with Hollywood ties |url=https://tucson.com/business/local/ariz-home-with-hollywood-ties/article_3b93bee6-5d76-51df-a8c4-12ad68c8e341.html |website=Arizona Daily Star|date=January 22, 2010|accessdate=October 16, 2018 |language=en}}
Death of Dominique Dunne and founding of Justice for Homicide Victims
{{Main|Dominique Dunne#Death}}
The couple's daughter, actress Dominique Dunne, was murdered by ex-boyfriend John Sweeney at her home in October 1982. He strangled her and attempted to kill himself. Actor David Packer, with whom Dunne was rehearsing for the miniseries V, found Sweeney trying to resuscitate Dunne, before attempting to kill himself by overdosing on pills. Sweeney was arrested and Dunne was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was placed on life support immediately and never recovered. She was removed from life support by her parents on November 4, 1982.{{cite web |last1=Darrach |first1=Brad |title=An American Tragedy That Brought Death to Actress Dominique Dunne Now Brings Outrage to Her Family |url=https://people.com/archive/an-american-tragedy-that-brought-death-to-actress-dominique-dunne-now-brings-outrage-to-her-family-vol-20-no-15/ |website=People |accessdate=October 16, 2018 |language=en}}
On September 21, 1983, Sweeney was acquitted of second-degree murder, but he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.{{harv|Dunne|2009|p=37}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6uFNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5699,3392679|title=Family of slain actress outraged at trial outcome|last=De Atley|first=Richard|date=September 22, 1983|work=The Free Lance-Star|page=31|accessdate=January 21, 2013}} Dunne's family protested the verdict as an "injustice."
One year later, Dunne and Marcella Leach founded California Center for Family Survivors of Homicide, a victim's rights group.{{cite web |last1=Day |first1=Brian |title=Organization reflects on three decades of helping families of homicide victims |url=https://www.sgvtribune.com/2014/04/06/organization-reflects-on-three-decades-of-helping-families-of-homicide-victims/ |website=San Gabriel Valley Tribune |accessdate=October 16, 2018 |date=April 6, 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Arnold |first1=Roxane |title=Strangled Actress : Did Slayer's Penalty Fit His Crime? |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-03-mn-453-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 16, 2018 |date=December 3, 1986}} Now known as Justice for Homicide Victims, the organization supports victims of homicide with legal support and navigation, counseling and referrals, and financial assistance.
In 1989, Dunne was awarded the Crime Victims Award by United States Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. Her work was also recognized by then-President George H. W. Bush at the White House.
Later life
Ellen Dunne had multiple sclerosis starting in the early 1980s.{{cite web |last1=Gray |first1=Kevin |title=A Kind of Deliverance |url=https://people.com/archive/a-kind-of-deliverance-vol-44-no-9/ |website=People |date=August 28, 1995|accessdate=October 16, 2018 |language=en}} In 1990, she left Beverly Hills and relocated to Nogales, where she built a 5,500-square-foot home on the site of her parents' former ranch. She died on January 9, 1997, shortly before her 65th birthday.
References
=Footnotes=
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite book|last=Dunne|first=Dominick |title=Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments |date=2009 |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-55722-3}}
External links
- {{find a Grave|7756473|Ellen Beatriz Griffin Dunne}}
- {{IMDb name | id= nm6203876 }}
- [https://justiceforhomicidevictims.org/ Justice for Homicide Victims]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin Dunne, Ellen}}
Category:20th-century American women
Category:20th-century American people
Category:People from Nogales, Arizona
Category:Miss Porter's School alumni
Category:University of Arizona alumni
Category:Crime victim advocates
Category:Neurological disease deaths in Arizona
Category:Deaths from multiple sclerosis
Category:People with multiple sclerosis
Category:American people of Irish descent